Udhampur (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], September 27 : Students, teaching staff and employees of Udhampur's Sant Ishwariya Bhartiya Vidya Mandir came together on Saturday to extend support and provide relief supplies to the families affected due to heavy rains in the state.
Kanushi Sharma, a student, expressed her joy in providing aid to the affected families and said that rations, food items and blankets were sent by the school.
"As we are all aware, over the past few days, our area of Jammu & Kashmir has experienced heavy rainfall, resulting in numerous landslides, cloud bursts, floods, and the loss of homes for many people. As a result, they now have nowhere to live and nothing to eat. Seeing this, our school took the initiative to help the affected families by sending them rations, food items, and blankets...Doing this, we are very happy..." Sharma told ANI.
Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi as their source of inspiration, another student, Prachi, expressed gratitude on receiving support from their parents in this noble deed.
"We are starting this initiative from our school, and we are very inspired by our prime minister, who also took similar steps to help people. We also want to help others. We have donated many items from our side, and our teachers, school staff, and principal have helped us with this effort. We also received support from our parents in doing this," Prachi told ANI.
Heavy rains and flash floods in the state destroyed crops, damaged orchards, and left traders stranded with unsold produce.
This also led to the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway for several days, compounding the problem, and delays in the transport of perishable goods.
Earlier, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had also expressed hope about the Prime Minister announcing a relief package for the state.
Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Abdullah highlighted the extent of destruction, particularly during the Kishtwar and Katra yatras.
"The loss has been immense, loss of lives, especially during the two yatras in Kishtwar and Katra, there has been loss of property also. Around 330 bridges have been washed away. More than 1500 km of roads have been destroyed. Many government buildings have suffered losses, and crops have been destroyed. Our dry fruits have been destroyed," Abdullah said.